Louise receives a Facebook Friend request. It’s from Maria, a girl she was at school with. The surprise, though, the thing that makes her shrink back in horror, is that Maria died twenty–five years ago at their leavers’ party. Louise is horrified because she believes her and her friends’ bullying cause the death. Only her husband knows her part in it as he was at the same school. The plot becomes more entangled when there is a school reunion for their class.

This is an interesting study in what young people are prepared to do to fit in with their peers. When your contemporaries’ opinions define you, you can persuade yourself to go against your own better nature and good sense. Louise is still, in adult life, bending her own nature and desires in order to fit in with those of others. If Maria is dead, someone else sent that friend request. Someone who blames Louise. Right at the very end, the story went a little out of my credibility zone but nonetheless, I enjoyed it a great deal.

Fried Request by Laura Marshall

A friend request from the dead? Surely it can’t be.. Can it?

This is a tale of the past catching up with you with a bang!

Set in the present but delving back into the past is the story of Laura and her friends teenage years coming back to haunt her, via the medium on social media site Facebook. Faced with a friend request from the dead, is the dreaded upcoming school reunion the place for answers?

Can she escape the past? … Not in this day and age where no-one is anonymous anymore…You can try but you can’t hide forever.

The story starts with a bang and the details build to an almighty climax, I was desperate to find out what would become of Laura and what it was that was haunting her from her past. How was se going to resolve this situation?

This is a gripping read that kept my attention though out I would certainly recommend this to my finds and in my reading groups.

great read and easy to follow story line. look forward to reading more from this author.

The book really pulled me in. I enjoyed the characters and the storyline as it's very believable. I got all the way to the last chapter where the tension was almost too much but then I was a bit deflated as the ending seemed too simple. There were some questions that weren't answered (for me).

I did still enjoy the book and i would still recommend it.

Excellent book. Great main characters and plot. I would recommend this book.

I really enjoyed this book and the storyline and ending were far better than I thought they were going to be. I read this book in one sitting to find out what had happened to Maria and if she was definitely dead. The story seemed to be going one way and then very cleverly towards the end the plot went in a totally different direction. Well written and well thought out and I would recommend it.

This is a powerful thriller. At schoolLouise is separated from Sam, her husband and father of her small son, Henry. When they were at school, she treated two girls very badly, and one appeared to have died after a drugs overdose. However, Louise suddenly, out of the blue, receives a Facebook friend request from the supposedly dead Maria. Then to compound everything, she also gets an invitation to a school reunion.
She goes back to her home town, but is no nearer solving the mystery. Then she receives a date request from someone she doesn't know, but goes to the date anyway. She appers to have been stood up, and on the way to the station fears she is being followed.
The atmosphere of fear, and dread is blinding obvious in this novel, and it is not advisable to be reading at night, as it starts to play on your mind. The twists in the plot are impressive, and I did enjoy reading this novel. Thank you to the publisher, and NetGalley for letting me read it.

Great concept and definitely a sign of the times.
To receive a bizarre friend request I think is something that most people can relate too, but from someone you think is dead....great hook!
I really enjoyed this book and admire the way that Laura has re-created Louise's 80's childhood so well. The peer pressure, teenage politics and pure psychological torture that secondary/high school can inflict on young people.
Pacey, twisty, good story and thoroughly enjoyable. Kept me guessing until the very end!

The premise of Friend Request is a good one: Louise receives an email from someone who is purportedly dead and this brings back memories of her school days and relationship between herself and Maria, who now appears to be very much alive. But is she? Who is the person who Louise fears is following her and seems to know her every move? Why does Louise feel so guilty?

Lots of questions and I guessed some of the answers but not who was the real culprit who caused Maria's disappearance nor who is baiting Louise now. However, I did feel that the relationship fault lines between Lousie and her ex husband Sam rather unbelievable when revealed towards the end of the story. Generally speaking a good psychological thriller and I'm sure will be popular and sell well.

I really enjoyed Friend Request it was such a great read and would definitely recommend

Absolutely brilliant book, was completely pulled in from the start to the unexpected finish.
The writing flowed along easily and the characters were likeable, Louise was great as the paranoid mother hooked on her past.
I mean who doesn't think back to their awkward school days with just a hint of trepidation?
The story stayed fairly true to life and was realistic in the characters actions, I really couldn't put Friend Request down!

This is a book that brings masses of contemporary relevance, centring on the impact that a social media message has on a guilt stricken single mother.
Louise is a mum, not long divorced who is a talented and capable designer. Looking after her young son, Henry, Louise works from home and has a stable of good clients. She doesn’t have much of a social life. Still hurting from her divorce, Henry is the centre of her world.
Then one day she receives a friend request on Facebook. A request which catapults her right back to her early teenage years and the behaviours, cliques and get togethers which formed her journey to adulthood.
For Louise, it is a time she wishes she could forget; looking back she is angst ridden and guilty about the way she behaved to some of her classmates.
She is not proud of her behaviour, in fact she bitterly regrets her actions and their consequences; consequences that have haunted her ever since.
So when Maria Weston’s friend request pops into her inbox, her mind goes into overdrive. Because Maria Weston has been missing, presumed drowned, since the late 80’s when Louise was at school.
Louise knows she was no friend to Maria. Desperate to fit into the prevailing popular circle of the day, she made choices that ostracized Maria and was unquestionably bullying behaviour.
Friend Request is a tightly told psychological thriller that moves from the present day into the past of Louise’s schooldays and back again. Laura Marshall has created an engaging and entirely plausible story that will resonate with anyone who went to secondary school.
Well-paced and told with flair and tension, Friend Request is laden with misdirection and twisted turns and for a book that demands to be as popular as this one will surely be, it is to be commended for its well-drawn characters.
A real page turner, Friend Request is a compelling read. It is bound to be a huge success and deservedly so.

I loved the whole idea behind this psychological thriller. It's very current and relates to life in this day and age which appealed to me straight away. This is the first book I have read by this author and I will certainly be looking out for more. It had me hooked from the first page and changing my mind several times as to who was behind it all. Great read and I would definitely recommend this book,

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with a review copy of this book in return for an honest review.

I was drawn in by the synopsis of this book and was captivated by the tense opening chapters as we are introduced to the characters and the setting is slowly being unfurled for our entertainment. The characters were completely believable and almost everyone can relate to some of the stressful teenage angst of forming friendships within the 'right' circles and Louise's struggles as a consequence of this.

This was a fantastic and entertaining book, which kept me guessing right up until the final chapter. I certainly didn't see that ending coming. I look forward to reading more from this writer in the future.

A very clever and disturbing read. The pacy, compelling crime strand is rounded out by a very acute portrait of the horrors of teenage peer pressure and bullying. The heroine's brutal honesty and guilt make her sympathetic and drive the story forward. I really enjoyed it, both for the suspense and the emotional impact.

This has to be my favourite read of 2017 (having read approximately 40 books this year!). I was gripped from the first sentence and had to cover each line by 80% through in order to stop myself reading ahead. The twists and turns had me reeling and thinking back to my old school days, the pecking order and how each character reminded me of girls at my school.. A truly fantastic book.

Wow! This is a brilliant debut book, make sure you start reading it on a quiet day as you won't be able to put it down!

Excellent suspense with a great main character. I was hooked the whole way through. 5 stars

This was a fantastic read for me. If you love your psychological thrillers like I do, you have to read this book.

I found myself racing through it each time I picked it up. it's a gripping story that quietly creeps up on you, weaving its shocking tale between past and present.
Laura Marshall has created a very compelling, suspenseful read, a book full of dark secrets and darker characters and for me an unexpected ending. I will definitely be looking out for more from this author.

Thank you!

The title drew me to this book and it didn't disappoint. It is an up to date, fast flowing thriller that had me guessing until the end. It is well written and I recommend it. 5*****